Crisis In A Can
by samus18
Summary: Johnny Worthington is bothered by the revolution taking place at Monsters Inc. and finds a way to deal with it. Meanwhile, he remains suspicious of an older-than-average child who he finds out has been screaming on purpose to get him to keep coming back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: First off, I just wanna say, Johnny Worthington is my absolute favorite character. :) We need more stories of him that don't involve slash. I know I have another Monsters story in progress, but this idea popped up in my head and I'm seeing where I can head with it. If you don't like it, then just do what I do when **I** come across a fanfic I don't like: ignore it and go away. To everyone else: hope you like it :D

Crisis In A Can

"The child's getting older," said a much-older monster sitting in a lofty office. He had shark-like teeth and many tentacles for legs. A dour expression donned his bestial features.

"Great screamer, though," Worthington said coolly, leaning against the door-frame of his boss's office. "She's been my best customer for years. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was doing it intentionally."

The older monster sat hunched at his desk and grunted, shaking his head. "It's too risky. Something doesn't smell right about it." He gazed at the picture of the now-ten-year-old girl, "best customer" of Johnny Worthington.  
"Ten years old?" he murmured doubtfully. "We usually shred a child's door by seven years of age, at the _latest_."

Johnny shrugged a shoulder. "Key word being 'usually.' Some kids are easier to scare than others, even well into their years."

"Perhaps…" he mumbled, and shuffled the child's file back in its proper place. "We'll need to keep an eye on this one. If she catches on that our world lies on the other side of her door…"

"I don't think there's anything to fear, sir," Johnny said cooly. "She can open that door as many times as she wants, but unless its hooked up, she won't find a thing."

The CEO nodded assent, seemingly content with the matter, for the moment. "Very well. Lets milk this thing for as long as we can. If what you say is true and she is indeed your 'best customer'...I suppose it would be a shame to lose all of that energy…"

Johnny donned his trademark grin. "Don't forget that a human's voice emits more power with age." He eased himself from the doorframe and stood behind the desk. "I remember when I first started scaring this one. I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw me," he chuckled. "Oh she was terrified, but I recall having trouble filling the canister." His expression darkened, as if it was something he preferred not to remember. "I thought she'd be a dead door in no time. Turns out I was wrong."

The older monster heaved himself out of the chair and faced his top Scarer. "Son, I want you to do me a favor. From now on when you go to visit this child, keep a keen eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Mark her facial expression and body language when she screams. Be _observant_. If you have any suspicions at all, I want to know about it."

Johnny nodded. "Consider it done, Mr. Cobswell."

Cobswell slapped him approvingly on the back. "Shall we commence?"

They headed out of the office, and Johnny Worthington, top Scarer at Fear Co., proceeded to start a long days' work.

* * *

It had been a tough shift, and Johnny was ready to call it a day by the time he punched out. He was the last one on the floor that evening. Everyone else was headed for home, and the lights began to shut off on the scare floor. A room that had previously been filled with so much light and sound was now as silent as the grave, as if it too were ready for a good night's rest.

Johnny dragged his feet as he exited the building and made for the parking lot. Tossing his duffel bag into the back seat, he slumped over the steering wheel and started the car. The streets were emptier that night than usual. There were a lot of monsters who were nocturnal, and thus their primary hours of operation were during the wee hours of the night. But as it was Monday night, even the nightcrawlers retired earlier than usual (more jobs in Monstropolis required diurnal workers, so even nocturnal monsters had to get used to retiring early for the sake of their schedule.)

When Johnny arrived home, he tossed his bag aside, threw off his jacket, and immediately headed to bed. He usually had a snack the moment he got home from work, but he had remained at the company longer than expected that night; sleep was looking a lot better than a snack. Tired as he was, his mind hopped from one thing to the next as he tried to relax enough to fall to sleep. He thought of all the scaring he had accomplished during the day. His mind flitted over some of the faces of the kids he had encountered, thought of all the things he had to get done on his next day off, mulled over Mr. Cobswell's instructions, reminded himself to return his mother's phone call, find time to take his car into the shop...water the weeds...

Next thing he knew, he was waking up to the alarm clock ringing in his ear. He impatiently shut if off and made to get ready for work. He expected Mr. Cobswell to debrief him on their "problem child" (as the boss was now referring to her), because Johnny was expecting to pay the kid a visit today. He only visited that particular girl about once a month, if that. It wasn't standard procedure to visit any single child too often, for fear of them being desensitized to the monster who visited them, regardless of how fearsome that monster was. Some human children recovered from their fears remarkably fast, and others, even more interestingly, tended to show no sign of fear at all. It was one of the many challenges of being a Scarer; you could be the scariest monster in the world, but if the kid didn't cooperate...well, it resulted in their door being sent to the shredder.

Johnny greeted the usual gaggle of acquaintances he was on friendly terms with. He was, needless to say, one of the more popular figures at the factory, and not least of all among the female employees.

"Worthington," a deep voice called behind him.

"Mr. Cobswell," he greeted.

"Today's the day. I have a checklist I want you to look over concerning your 'pride and joy.'" He meant the 10-year-old girl.

He chuckled. He seriously didn't believe that the girl would end up being any trouble in the long run - but whatever his boss wanted, he'd get it done pronto. "Leave it to me," he said, as he followed his superior toward his office.

When they got there, Mr. Cobswell pulled out a laminated sheet of paper from a filing cabinet and handed it to Johnny. "We haven't had to use one of these in a long time," he said, as Johnny skimmed the paper. "But, times are changing, which means children are changing, too. They're getting harder to scare."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "All evidence to the contrary." He tucked the paper under his arm and they left the office.

His boss allowed a small grin. "You never seem lacking in this area of expertise, Worthington. I don't recall the last time you ever had an off day here at the factory."

"That's because I've never had one." He smirked. "It can't all be the kids, you know. Maybe some of the employees are losing their touch."

He nodded, contemplating the possibility. A slimy tentacle reached up to adjust the collar of his suit. "Perhaps it's also a matter of finding out what scares each individual child. Although our department has always been very thorough about that."

"All the more reason to hang onto the runt I'm dealing with. She's about the longest we've ever had any child."

"Yes, well…" he straightened, triangular teeth bared in mild indecision. "We'll keep things the way they are - for _now_. But we'll put her on the yellow list in case of any 'funny business.' Human children can be crafty."

"I know what you mean," he muttered, remembering a particular experience he had with a child's 'cleverness.' He was thinking of a boy he used to scare now and then, and during one shift, he had opened the door portal to his room - only to meet with a stack of books landing hard on his head. Evidently, the boy had anticipated his arrival and had tried to set a "trap" for him. Granted, it was no genius plan, but he was surprised - appreciative, almost - at the kid's initiative. Most children in anticipation of a monster coming out of their closet just sat in bed nervously peering around the room, or huddled under the covers. Johnny had never admitted it to anyone, but he was sorry the kid's door had to be destroyed. He would have been a fun subject to work with, maybe even would have provided him with a challenge.

If Johnny had any clandestine regrets, it was that standard protocol called for a child's door to be destroyed the instant the child could no longer provide them with scream energy, for whatever reason. In some rare cases, they have been known to destroy the doors of children who insisted that one of their parents stay in the room with them all night, but only if they repeated it over and over. But again, it was a rare case when that happened, as most parents found other ways to deal with their child's fear other than stay in their room all night waiting for something to come out of the closet that they knew wasn't there.

He still regretted it, though. He thought it might be fun to meet a kid who actually posed a challenge for him.

* * *

Johnny's partner, Charlie, stood by the first door, waiting for his co-worker to arrive. Charlie was a lot shorter than Johnny. He was a robust yellow monster with four limbs, two eyes, and sharp teeth. Two tiny horns protruded out of his scaly head. But he was a friendly guy, and Johnny didn't mind working with him.  
His last assistant, a guy named Victor, had to throw in the towel when family complications arose and he found himself moving out of Monstropolis altogether. Johnny had been sorry to see him go. Victor had been an excellent assistant, and had been working with Johnny since he first started at the company.

Yet, Charlie was always enthusiastic about working with Fear Co.'s top Scarer. To him, no higher privilege could be awarded.  
Although he had been transferred from a smaller scare company for outstanding performance, his eagerness to be at Fear Co. would have made anyone believe that it was his first time wrangling cans.

"Good morning, Mr. Worthington!" he chimed. "I've got your first door all ready. Looks like number one today is a boy from Colorado." Charlie was still fairly new at the job and hadn't yet familiarized himself with Johnnys' regular batch of kids. The Colorado kid was Johnnys' second most visited.

"Gregory first, huh?" Johnny said, smoothly. "Bring it on, this kid's terrified of me." He flexed his muscles and crouched to the floor in ready position.

When the light went on, he raced into the kids room, whereupon Charlie heard an ear-shattering scream, and the yellow canister filled to the top in less than a second.

"Nicely done, sir!" Charlie beamed when the large purple monster exited the room. Several more hours of scaring, and Johnny was ready to take a ten. He and Charlie made their way to the break room.

"You know, sir," Charlie said after grabbing a donut, "even with Monsters Inc. restoring to different methods nowadays, we're still not that far behind them...I mean, when it comes to producing energy."

Johnny sighed while pouring himself a cup of coffee. The revolutionized technique for obtaining energy that Monsters Inc. was now using was something he didn't like to think about, for various reasons. The company had shocked all of Monstropolis - indeed, the entire monster world - when it became known that the Scarers there had turned into...well, _Entertainers_. Or those that made children laugh. Whatever they chose to call it. Sure, they were doing it for the good of the company and for monsters everywhere, as apparently laugh energy was discovered to be more powerful than scream energy. Still…

"We may actually be ahead of them someday," Johnny mumbled, taking a seat opposite Charlie. He was never quite sure what to say when it came to Monsters Inc. anymore. He had mixed feelings on the matter. Sure, it was great that the company was providing a surplus in energy for monsters everywhere...but the method in which their employees now had to obtain that energy was...well...undignified. He knew that he would never be a monster that made children laugh, and neither did he want to. He was born and bred to scare, not _entertain_. His whole family history revolved around scaring; it was what he went to school and worked so hard for. Besides that, he was a fearsome-looking monster, not a comedic one. He refused to give up a lifetime of work and study, regardless of how efficient laugh-energy was.

Charlie had become a little more used to Johnny's moods, and was able to tell when his co-worker was in an agreeable one or not. He ventured carefully, "Well, our ways might be old-school by now, but as long as we keep trying our hardest…" He let the rest speak for itself.

It was another thing that irked Johnny. In the back of his mind, he feared that his company might one day resort to mimicking Monsters Inc. and resort to trying to obtain "laugh energy." If that day ever came, he didn't know what he would do. He had heard rumors that even Scream Industries was making steps toward revolutionizing their technique as well. Anymore, keeping up with the quota using scream energy was just too difficult.

He shoved his chair back and stood up; he didn't want to think about this right now. "Come on," he said, suddenly fiercely determined. "Let's vow to break the record today."

Johnny, of course, held several records at Fear Co., but he was always aspiring to beat it. He hadn't broken any records yet with Charlie as his partner, but he was willing to let Charlie get his "scare floor legs" before he tried pushing him hard (_too_ hard, anyway.)

They had worked extra hard that day, bringing in door after door, filling countless canisters with scream energy. A few employees nearby even paused in their work to stare in wonder and admiration at their star player at his best.

It was toward the end of the day when a familiar door lowered itself onto the platform. It was the plainest-looking door, white with a brass knob, but Johnny would have recognized it anywhere. 'We meet again, kid,' he thought, as Charlie prepared the canister.

"Here goes, Mr. Worthington." He gave a thumbs up, and Johnny swept into the bedroom.

Unfortunately for him, a very unexpected thing happened. Before he even had a chance to ready himself for a scare method, something wound itself around his legs.

"_Hey_, what the -!" The 'something' tripped him up and sent him crashing to the floor. The sound of a tiny motor could be heard in the background, even with the tremendous thud of his large form onto the ground.

All Scarers knew to look out for any objects obscuring their path to a bed, but this certain "obstruction" had happened the instant Johnny moved one inch into the room. Whatever it was, it had been constructed much too cleverly for a toddler.

"Caught him! I _caught_ him!" piped a feminine voice.

"Shhh! You're gonna wake up your parents!" said another.

Johnny was dazed, but only slightly. Almost as fast as it had happened, he tugged the string off his legs and stood up, hands on his hips, glaring at not one, but _two_ young girls sitting on the bed in the room.

Angry and surprised, Johnny fixed the girls with a scowl. "What do you think you're doing, _runt?_"  
It was the first time he had ever spoken to her.

The girl - the 10-year-old he had been scaring for years, now - stared wide-eyed at him. "You talk?"

"Of course I talk," he barked. Then, as if suddenly becoming aware of the situation, he moved a hand to cover his eyes. "This is no good," he said, and backed off into the door. The chance to get the child to scream had been blown.

"Wait!" the girl called. She hopped off the bed, leaving her speechless friend behind, and approached him.

Even though it was now known to all monsters that human children did not pose a danger, he still inwardly recoiled as she walked up to him. Old habits died hard, after all. "What are you?" she asked him.

"A monster," he said, "now get back to bed and don't tell _anyone_ about this!" He seemed frustrated.

"But wait!" she said again, and this time he fought with impatience. "Who are you? Why do you come into my room to scare me?"

"Long story, kid. Let's just say it's my job." Without waiting for her to say "wait!" again, he disappeared behind the door and slammed it shut.

The girl and her friend, naturally, rushed over and opened it - but the only thing they found was the inside of her closet.

* * *

Johnny had left work angry that evening. He didn't even say bye to Charlie. When he got home, he flopped on his couch and turned on the television, hoping to find something that would distract him from the days' disturbing events. He flipped through ten channels before giving up and shutting the box off. He rubbed his temples and remained on the couch for a few minutes, allowing himself to brood, before getting up and heading to the kitchen for something to drink.

'Looks like this is it...Cobswell was right after all.'

He spent the rest of the evening trying not to worry too much about what had happened, and decided to share it with Charlie the next day.

* * *

"Say _what_? But, Mr. Worthington, if she's not afraid of you, we _have_ to shred her door!"

"Will you _can_ it?" he hissed, and Charlie put his upper hands to his mouth. "I know what this means, and it's a lot more than having the kids' door demolished! Don't you get it? She's the one who gives us the most scream energy."

"But Mr. Worthington," he said again, "it's standard procedure! Besides, she's not going to scream anymore if she isn't afraid of you."

Johnny was silent for a time, deep in thought. They were in the locker room, and no one else was around. He stuffed a sweatshirt into his locker, and then it hit him. "Mr. Cobswell was right," he said, as if a light-bulb had gone off in his head.

Charlie didn't catch on. "Of course he was right, you said so yourself."

"No," he said, waving an irritated hand. "I mean he was right about the kid - she _was_ screaming as loud as she could, but _intentionally_. She was doing it on purpose."

Charlie was confused. "But, why would any kid do that?"

"What's what I _don't_ know." He frowned. "But...I ought to find out."

Charlie's eyes widened. "Do you think that's safe? Wouldn't it be better if we just got rid of her door?"

Johnny stiffened, and faced his co-worker. "You don't get it, do you? If we lose that kid, we lose a huge portion of what makes this job successful. She's the oldest kid I scare, and her screams are a lot more powerful than the younger ones."

"...Does it really make that much difference if you only lose one kid?"

"It does to _me_. Besides," he turned away, "we've got to do everything we can for this company, what with Monsters Inc. in the lead with their laughing techniques and all. That means doing _everything_. Every scream we get is crucial, if we want to keep things the way they've been going on for time on end."

Charlie nodded, beginning to understand why he was making such a fuss over one kid. "Alright, as long as you know what you're doing." He shook his head, as if he still strongly disapproved of the idea.

Johnny, however, was adamant. "The boss told me to keep an eye on the kid, and that's exactly what I'm gonna be doing."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Here's the second chapter. I owe a lot of thanks to fellow FanFiction writer, O'Growlahan, who is collaborating with me on the story, and thus the ideas in it belong rightfully both to him and me. :)

Chapter 2

The sun shone bright over Fear Co's insignia, casting long shadows over the courtyard. Monsters filed in and out of the building, some of them heading in to work, others (non-Scarers) heading for home after pulling an all-nighter.

Johnny entered the building early that morning, and tired as he was, at least it meant that he could go home earlier as well. He preferred night shifts, personally, but he had to admit that early morning shifts had their advantages. He greeted everyone half-heartedly, vowing not to initiate conversation until he had at least one cup of coffee. He never really had trouble getting up in the morning, but perhaps long years of working non-stop at the company were beginning to take a small toll.

After he allowed himself a couple minutes to get in the groove, he decided he would approach his boss about what happened yesterday. He didn't intend to tell him all of the truth, however, as doing so would probably cause him to panic and resort to having the child's door shredded. Johnny didn't want to take that risk, so he had another story made up.

"Good morning Mr. Cobswell," he approached the CEO as soon as he was open for conversation, having just ended one with a fellow Scarer.

"Good morning, Worthington. How's the star player this morning?"

"Never better," he straightened his posture to ward off any misgivings about his state. "Listen, sir. I had an encounter with the girl yesterday."

He raised his eyebrow. "The one?"

"Yes, that one. I...scared her pretty good, but I noticed something slightly out of the ordinary…" He had his boss's full attention now; there was no turning back. 'Here goes,' he thought, and said aloud, "In the past, when I used to scare her, she'd always dive under the blanket. Well, this time she didn't."

Just as he had thought, Mr. Cobswell appeared very perturbed by the news. "I see…" He frowned.

Feeling a bit perturbed himself (for a different reason), Johnny put his gear in reverse. "I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about, sir. I don't expect her to hide under the quilt every time I come to scare her. I remember one night when she ran out of her room."

But Mr. Cobswell would not be dissuaded. "I don't like this news, it sounds as though she is overcoming her fear...however slightly." He paused. "Even so, we must stick to the rules, which state that a child's door must not be sent to the shredder unless there is a legitimate reason for doing so."

Johnny let loose a barely-audible sigh of relief. "Right, sir."

"As such, just keep up the good work. I trust you, Worthington."

Johnny felt a pang of guilt upon hearing those words, but he thanked his boss and left for the locker room. He began to wonder what he was getting himself into, when Peter approached him from the other side of the locker wall. He was a large, imposing monster who usually worked on the same scare floor as Johnny. He was thick-set and covered in turquoise scales. His tail was short and stubby, but his most remarkable feature were his glow-in-the-dark eyes, which did wonders in frightening children at night.

"Morning, Worthington!" he greeted, flinging a towel over his shoulder.

"Morning, Peter." Johnny said, staring at his co-worker. "What's with the towel? It's only 8:00 AM."

"I've been practicing. Gotta keep in top shape if I'm gonna avoid human objects, right?"

"Peter," Johnny deadpanned, "human kids aren't toxic, remember?"

"Oh...right," he said, looking as if he were disappointed by this fact. "But all the same, I don't want to get out of shape."

"You working on Floor A today?"

"Nah, my schedule says C. Gonna be paying a visit to Johanna today."

Johnny raised an amused eyebrow and stuffed a few things into his locker. "The kid that throws things?"

"That's the one!" he nodded enthusiastically, as if it pleased him.

Johnny shook his head. "Can't see why they haven't sent that brat's door to the shredder."

Peter shrugged. "She's still technically afraid of me."

He sighed. He didn't want to think about door shredders at the moment. "Well, I'm off. See you around break."

The morning shift turned out more interesting than Johnny had anticipated. Charlie made sure that the 10-year-old's door came up as soon as possible.

Johnny looked surprised when it lowered onto the platform. "Her again?" he said. "I thought we weren't due back to the Pacific coast for another few weeks or so."

Charlie shrugged. "You must have missed the announcement. The Pacific coast is getting a little overtime due to our great success yesterday."

He shook his head. "It's still odd. I don't recall the company ever issuing a repeat performance in the same time zone." He readied himself to enter the child's room. Charlie gulped nervously as he set everything in motion, then gave Johnny the go-ahead.

This time Johnny didn't burst into the girl's room ready to scare. He approached cautiously for fear of being entangled in another one of the girl's "traps" - and found that the girl was indeed there (alone this time), lying on her bed with a book. As was the habit of any skilled monster, he briefly glanced over the floor for any human objects. But being that this child was ten years of age, her floor was a bit tidier than that of a toddler.

The girl looked up from her book, and sat up quickly. "You again!" she exclaimed.

"Quiet, keep it _down_," he hissed.

Amazingly, the girl complied, and continued to stare at him. "Who are you?" she asked.

'Again with the questions,' he thought, and took a step closer. He shut the door behind him, trusting that Charlie would stay hard on his task. "Johnny Worthington the Third," he answered distractedly, knowing it would mean nothing to the human kid.

"Johnny?" she repeated, bemused. Then said, "My name is Marley."

He said nothing, but folded his arms and studied her for the first time. She seemed to be of average height and weight for a 10-year-old human girl. She had dirty-blond hair and blue-grey eyes. She wore a long lime-green shirt and patterned leggings, and had something of an unkempt look to her.

He glanced behind him slightly to make sure the door was still shut; he didn't want anyone listening in on this conversation. "Listen kid, I know all about your 'scream scheme'." He paused, as if waiting for some explanation from her. It was strange talking to a human like this. It was the first time he had ever actually spoken to one, and stranger, still, lingering in a childs' bedroom for all the world as if there was no cause for alarm.

She seemed unperturbed by the accusation, and said, "I almost caught you, too, but you had to go and ruin it." She bit her bottom lip, watching his reaction carefully.

Ignoring this statement, he continued, "How long have you been screaming on purpose?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, I guess a while..."

"How long?" he pushed.

She screwed up her mouth and looked at the ceiling. "Maybe...three years?"

He sighed and once again covered his eyes with his hand. He then looked at the kid's door. Every second brought greater tension for the monster, as any minute the kid's parents could come in to check on her (the kid did have her light on, which didn't help matters much, as lights seemed to draw attention from parents more often than not.)

Deciding to shove pride away for a moment, he asked her, "Think you can keep it up?"

"Keep _what_ up?"

"The screaming."

She slid off her bed.

"Why do you want us kids to scream so much, anyway?"

"Kid, like I said, it's a long story, and I don't have time to explain any of it." He glanced behind him for the umpteenth time. "Just tell me, would you be willing to keep screaming as loud as you can every time I come here?"

Her eyes lit up. "As loud as I can?"

"Right."

"Yeah, I can do that!"

"Alright then," he stepped back a few paces and placed his hand on the doorknob. "Until next time, kid."

"Hey, wait, what about - !" But Johnny had closed the door.

Marley didn't even bother opening it this time. She went back to bed, frustrated. That Johnny monster sure didn't like lingering, and he always refused to answer her questions. She lay in bed for a long time thinking about it. She knew her parents would never believe her if she told them that a monster came and talked to her. For Pete's sake, they didn't believe her years ago when she said a monster kept coming out of her closet to scare her, so they certainly wouldn't believe this.

The only person who knew about Johnny was her friend, Geraldine, who was the only other person who saw him. 'This is so crazy!' she thought to herself as she grabbed her favorite stuffed animal and hugged it close. 'There's actually a monster in my closet...I wasn't imagining things."

Sometimes, when she woke up in the morning, she had to convince herself that the encounters really had happened, and that she hadn't dreamed them. By the end of the day, that belief was always put to the test, and she was constantly tempted to think that none of it was real. But there would always come a night when she was proven wrong.

A sudden idea came to mind, and she smiled under the covers. If that Johnny monster didn't answer her questions next time, then she would refuse to scream for him. That would make him answer any question she asked.

Satisfied, and anxious now for his next visit - whenever that would be (his visits were vastly unpredictable) - she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Everything ok, sir?" Charlie asked cautiously as Johnny stepped out of the room. "You were in there for...uh...a while."

"Fine," he said curtly. "Everything worked out fine."

"Uh, sir?" he pointed to the canister. It was empty.

Johnny mentally swore and swiped his fist through the air. 'How could I have been so stupid?' He looked around to see if anyone had noticed; it was the first time he ever left a room with an empty can. "Get me another door. _Now_."

Charlie scurried off to obey.

"We're gonna have to work extra hard for that," he murmured when his assistant returned.

"But, sir, what about the girl? Aren't you gonna report her door? Remember, if a child loses all fear -"

"Quiet!" he hissed, glancing around the scare floor. "We're not gonna mention this here, got it?"

Charlie nodded, wide-eyed, and proceeded to focus on his task. He didn't know what his partner was up to, and was beginning to feel more nervous by the minute. He couldn't understand why Mr. Worthington refused to report a dead door...nor even why no one else had failed to notice the empty canister.

Later that day during lunch break, Johnny met up with Charlie in the break room. "Listen, rookie," he said, "if you wanna know what this is all about, we'd better step outside."

Charlie wasn't Johnny's first choice of people to confide in. He'd much rather have communicated with Chet, his college fraternity brother, who often worked on a different scare floor. He had known Chet for years, and although the crab-like monster was flighty, Johnny trusted him.

But seeing as how Charlie was his door assistant and bound to find out what was going on anyway, he grudgingly accepted the logical (and unavoidable) choice. He wasn't exactly close friends with Charlie, but Johnny felt him to be a good guy.  
They stepped outside and took a seat on one of the benches in front of the fountain.

Charlie set to work on his lunch. Johnny decided to come right out with it. "I talked to the kid."

Charlie nearly spit out his coffee. "You _WHAT_?!" There was no need to say who "the kid" was.

"Hey," Johnny angrily clasped a hand over the excitable monster's mouth. "Do you mind keeping it down? I don't need this kinda stuff _broadcasted_."

Charlie nodded, but his expression remained incredulous. "Mr. Worthington, how could you - !"

"Hold it, let me explain," he cut him off, splaying his hands. "Yesterday, I told you that the boss was right about that little imp, so I decided to ask the girl, just to make sure. She confirmed my worst...uh, _fears_. The runt's not scared of me anymore, but -" he held up a finger as Charlie opened his mouth, "we've come to an agreement."

Charlie looked twice as stunned as he was already, if that were possible. "A...an agreement?"

"Right." Now Johnny leaned in so as to make sure no one heard. He said in low tones, "The kid's agreed to keep providing us with scream energy."

Charlie put his hands to his ears and shook his head back and forth. "Oh no no no no no...this is _not_ good, this _can't_ be good…" He continued to shake his head.

"Hey," Johnny said again, in a stern voice. He lightly slapped Charlie upside the head, forcing the yellow monster to snap out of it. "Relax, small fry. We're in control on this side of the door. If a single thing goes wrong, the worst that could happen is having her door demolished."

"But _Johnny_ -" he caught himself, started, and said, "Mr. Worthington...I mean...communicating with humans is strictly against the law, no matter what the situation!"

"Listen, rookie," his voice took on a more dangerous tone, "everything I've worked for my entire life could be at stake, and if this company doesn't start making its quotas, we're _done_. Get the message? If I can get this kid to howl like a banshee on a whim, then it's one less thing I have to worry about."

Charlie sighed and stared at the ground, downcast. "Whatever you say, sir." He stared at his sandwich, not really hungry anymore. "But I don't like it...not _one bit_."

* * *

Marley sat in her room on Saturday morning, surrounded by sheets of paper and colored pencils. Her favorite cartoon show had ended, so she found herself secluded in her room. Her mother had offered to invite Geraldine over, but Marley said she didn't feel like playing with anyone right now. She hadn't been wanting to be around anyone since the last time that Johnny monster came into her room.

She felt strange. She knew that she was carrying a very big secret inside of her, and as such, it made her feel a bit isolated from everyone else. She wanted so much to tell someone about the monster...but who would believe her?

She sat at the small desk in her room and finished the picture she had been working on. It was of Johnny. Marley had always been a good artist, and her rendition of the large purple monster was a remarkable likeness. She looked at it for a minute, then - having a sudden change of heart - decided that she would invite Geraldine over. Her friend was, after all, the only other human who had seen the purple monster. Talking about the exciting discovery would help alleviate her anxiety until the monster returned again.

A while later found the two girls sitting in Marley's room. Geraldine was playing a video game, and Marley was working on another picture.

"Darn it, I keep dying," Geraldine moaned and leaned back against her friend's bed.

"Do you think we really saw this thing?" Marley asked, studying her picture-in-progress.

"I don't know," her friend answered, still gazing defeatedly at the screen. "I thought we dreamed it. Monsters aren't real."

"I don't know…" She chewed the end of her pencil and held up the picture. "Did he look like this?"

Her friend gazed at the drawing. "Yeah, that's a pretty good picture of him...I guess we _did_ see him."

"Aren't you excited, though?"

"About what? I don't want him coming back here, whatever he is."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "He's scary, and besides, do you think my parents would ever believe me if I told them a monster was coming out of my friend's closet? I used to say stuff like that when I was _five_."

Marley sighed and tossed her pencil onto the desk. Chatting about this with her friend wasn't turning out like she had hoped. It made it harder for her to believe that what she had seen wasn't a dream.

"Do you wanna stay over at my house tonight? My parents are gonna order a pizza."

"I think I'll stay here, I don't wanna miss anything if that monster comes back."

Geraldine looked at her. "You're crazy, Marley! You're really just gonna sit here and wait for him?"

They bickered lightly back and forth, until Geraldine's parents came over to pick her up. Marley waved goodbye, and then immediately headed back up to her room, closing the door. She flopped down on her bed, absently reaching for her stuffed bear. Her mind was a-whirl as she stared up at the ceiling, pulling at bits of fluff on her stuffed animal.

She felt a surge of anger and hurt from her friend's words.

'I'm _not_ crazy...'

* * *

A few weeks passed by rather uneventfully before Johnny approached his boss concerning the matter with "Problem Child."

"How have things been coming along, Worthington?"

"Smooth enough." He rubbed the back of his head. "Problem Kid still screams when I enter the room, so it's safe to say she's as timid as ever. Haven't lost my touch."

"Good, good. No other unusual signs, then?"

"Not really, sir."

He set his coffee mug down. "Alright. Just you stay on top of it, and I'll try not to worry."

Johnny was growing uncomfortable with the lies. He decided he would come clean and tell his boss the truth about the girl - but not yet. He needed to wait until the time was right. Conversing with your scare object was not something a monster did idly, and so the topic would have to be breached very carefully. If coming into physical contact with a human child was the number one avoidance, then speaking to a child was a close second.

Scarers are strongly encouraged not to speak to the children they frightened, for fear that any evidence of the monster world would leak out into the human world - however unlikely the case might be. Human children had active imaginations, of course, and parents understood this quite well. But it was a chance best not taken.

Charlie was ready and waiting at the station as Johnny arrived on the scene. "Morning, sir! How do you feel this morning?"

He glared at the smaller yellow monster as if to say "what do you think?" but he forced a civilized response. "Fine, Charlie. Who's it gonna be today?"

"We're on a new kid today - a four-year-old boy from Alaska."

"Good; I always like a new customer." He grinned and, as per usual, flexed his muscles.

The door light buzzed on, and he swooped in, shutting the door behind him. The small boy was wide awake and sitting up in bed, staring out the window - but when the large, fearsome, purple monster came from out of his closet, he let out a bona fide scream that would have pleased any Scarer.

Unfortunately for Johnny, the sound of footsteps were heard almost immediately outside the kid's door. A light appeared beneath it, along with a muffled voice calling, "Danny?"

Johnny quickly disappeared back into the closet.  
He was greeted with an immediate "Well done, sir!" from Charlie as he unloaded the canister from the door. His enthusiasm fell short as he noticed the (_very slightly_) frazzled look on his co-worker's face. "Uh, sir?"

"The kid's parents showed up right after he screamed." He put his hands on his hips and stared at the now-lifeless door with a frown. "Looks like another kid we're gonna have to keep an eye on."

"Aw, gee," Charlie shook his head. "Strange that the kid's parents were so quick to show up, huh?"

"Right. Now you see why we're under pressure here, bub."

"I sure hope we can keep our numbers up. If our problems keep escalating…"

"We'll keep the numbers up," Johnny growled with the utmost confidence in his voice. "And we'll do it by doing our job. So get me another door, we've stood here long enough."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What's the time, Charlie?"

"Precisely 7:02 PM, sir."

Johnny had been going through the motions very smoothly that day, but he was anxious to get off work. Ever since he had decided to collaborate with the 10-year-old (that is, _Marley)_ he vowed to do a little extra research on human beings, if only to lessen the chance that he would be taken by surprise a second time. That aside, it just seemed prudent. Knowledge about human beings was slim in the monster world; few monsters ever went beyond scream energy when it came to learning about the creatures they depended on for power. Still, he planned on checking out the local library after work. He got off at 8:00 PM, which gave him plenty of time afterwards to rest and carry out the research.

When the end of the shift came, Johnny said a quick goodbye to his co-workers and headed for the library. It was lucky that his shift ended at 8:00, and not later. He rarely ever went to the library and wasn't sure what time it closed, but being that this 'project' might take more than a little time to complete, he'd rather have the extra time than not.

The Monstropolis library was enormous. It had to be, because it was the only one in the city, aside from the smaller library at the senior center. As with every other building in Monstropolis, it was decorated very fearsome, adorned with spikes, frightening statues, and austere design.

Johnny parked his car and headed up the stone steps to the entrance. It was winter, and the days grew darker much earlier,so he had the pleasure of observing the library illuminated by the large garden lights hidden among the bushes. Library or not, it was an inspiring sight to behold.

'Maybe I ought to come here more often,' he thought, half jokingly.

The interior of the library was well-lit and expansive. There weren't many monsters there this time of night.

The librarian - a skinny, many-tentacled lady with curly gray hair and red lips - looked up as Johnny approached the desk.

"Why, if it isn't Fear Co.'s top Scarer," she said in a spindly voice. One of her tentacles reached up to adjust her glasses.

He smirked. "In the flesh. Listen, I'm looking for something important -"

"Well you've come to the right place, young man," she interrupted, easing herself out of her chair and making her way over to one of the computers. "The Monstropolis library covers everything from the fear-monger fruit-fly to the Juggling Giants of Howling Hollow -"

"Actually," he cut in, leaning an elbow on the desk, "I need some information on humans."

"Ahh," she murmured and set to typing on the keyboard. In less than three seconds, she pulled the results up. "Yes, yes, we have many, many books on the properties of scream energy, the strength of a child's scream, different screams for different ages -"

"What about anything on human _behavior?_"

She paused and regarded him with surprise. "Books, on human _behavior_? Well, I never...I don't believe anyone has asked for such a thing before...however…" She turned back to the screen, and - reluctantly, it seemed - conducted a search. Again, it didn't take long for her to find. "Mm, yes, you're in luck Mr. Worthington. It would seem we have one book in the whole library on human behavior."

"Great. Direct me to it."

"Fifth floor, section D, aisle 6, you can't miss it."

"You're a gem," he muttered, and went to go search for the book.

He had a difficult time of it, but at last he managed to locate the book tucked behind a row. He frowned in curiosity as he studied the book, with its dusty cover, thick spine, and odd cover page - a painting of what appeared to be a human with his hands on his despairing face. It looked ancient and forgotten, as if no one had so much as touched it in decades. Hardly surprising, if one thought about it.

He raised an eyebrow, almost having second thoughts as to whether this was really worth it. But he tucked the book under his arm, headed back down to the main lobby, and checked it out. His mission, so far, was successful; he hadn't expected it to be that easy to find even one book on human behavior. Monsters just didn't seem to care much about human characteristics, unless it could somehow be attributed to how they scared their children.

When he got home, he set the book on a table and headed to the fridge for a snack. By then it was around 8:45 PM. He wasn't tired, and it was a Friday night, so he phoned Chet and Chip to see if they were interested in a trip to the bowling lanes. He also got a hold of Reggie (even though he knew Reg wasn't a big fan of bowling.) He didn't bother calling Javier because he knew he was working late that night. So at least four of the previous members of ROR gathered for a Friday night game.

It was packed, but the disco lights were flashing everywhere and music blared through the loudspeakers, which made for a lively atmosphere.

Long into the game, Chip began to have the upper hand, with Johnny as a close second.

"How's work been going, Johnny?" Chip asked in his usual eager manner, during a break in the game.

"Things are getting better," he said with confidence. He then decided to tell his frat brothers about the understanding he had made with the human kid.

Ordinarily, Johnny would not have volunteered such delicate information - but these were his friends, his former fraternity members. If he couldn't tell them, who _could_ he confide in?

Needless to say, they were all shocked at the news. Even Chet hadn't known about it, and he usually clung to Johnny like a barnacle.

"But Johnny, talking to a _human kid_?" he spluttered.

"I know times are hard, but do you really need to take drastic measures?" Chip asked doubtfully.

Johnny was not phased. "Trust me guys, I know what I'm doing. The kid agreed to help me, so if nothing goes wrong, it won't make any difference whether she's screaming because she's afraid, or because we've struck a deal. In fact, it might even be better. Kids scream on impulse when they see a monster step outta their closet. Think about how much energy we could get if one of them screamed willingly, giving it her all?"

The others were silent. They didn't like arguing with their former frat president, and besides, maybe he had a point; maybe he really was on to some kind of breakthrough here. After all, everyone knew that children weren't toxic as they had so thought for ages. As drastic as his plan seemed, they still trusted his judgement.

They played the rest of their games (with Chip as the final winner) and parted ways for the night.

Johnny got home late, and because he was still feeling wide awake, decided to take a look at the book he had checked out. He flopped onto the couch and opened to page one, and it was a couple of hours before he found himself drifting off to sleep with the book propped on his chest.

* * *

The weekend had gone by fast, and before anyone knew it, Monday had creeped up on them yet again. But, if you worked for a scare company, Monday's were something to look forward to. Whether you were one of the superstars or not, working at scare companies had their benefits even for those at the bottom of the social rung. Monsters of all positions had access to the most popular figures in public, and many of them considered their difficult tasks and tedious hours worth it just for that fact alone.

Johnny entered the building that day with all manner of confidence and high hopes. As usual, Charlie was ready and waiting at the door station for his admired co-worker to arrive. Charlie, ever the hard worker, always made it a point to have a door ready before his partner arrived.

"Morning, rookie," Johnny said as he approached his assistant.

"Uh, good morning, Mr. Worthington!" Charlie had an expression of slight wonder on his face; Johnny almost never 'good-morninged' him first. "In a good mood today?"

"Naturally," he smirked and was already crouched on the floor, ready to pounce on his first "victim." "Let me at 'em, rookie; I'm feeling eager today!"

The smaller monster nodded enthusiastically and ran the card through the door. "Go get 'em, boss!"

The light buzzed green and with a savage growl, Johnny raced into the room. The yellow canister instantly filled to the top. Johnny came back with his chest puffed out in pride.

"Nicely done, sir!" Charlie beamed.

"Keep it coming, buddy, we're gonna be on a roll today."

Can after can was filled to the brim as Johnny tackled one door after another. A few times Charlie even had to put in a second can to get the remaining scream energy. He was in gleeful hysteria; his scare partner was unstoppable!

Towards the afternoon, Johnny left another bedroom with a click of the door. "Still going strong!" he said with delight. "Who's next?"

"...Ah...it looks like that one kid is next, sir."

_That one kid._

His expression fell somewhat. "Marley?"

"...Marley, sir?"

"The ten-year-old."

"Ah, right - yes, I believe that's the one." He buried his face in his clipboard.

"Hn. Alright, you know what to do."

Charlie nodded and readied the door. As soon as the light went on, Johnny entered (though not without making a show of it, as he didn't want anyone on the scare floor to see him entering a child's bedroom in a casual manner.) When he got in, he shut the door behind him. As usual, the girl's light was on, and she was lounging on her bed, looking for all the world as if she were waiting for a friend who was late.

'Here goes. Round one,' he thought, and straightened.

When Marley saw him, her eyes lit up and she got up off the bed. "You're here," she said with a smile.

"Of course I am. Now, you remember what we agreed on?"

"Yeah, I remember. You want me to scream now?"

"Shoot."

She inhaled, making a big show of what he was certain she was about to do. He reached behind him and placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave the room as soon as the scream left her mouth.

But the sound never came.

Marley opened her mouth and breathed out, as if she had been underwater. Johnny frowned.

"Kid, what gives? I need that scream!"

She folded her arms. Never a good sign. "Before I scream," she said, "I want you to answer my questions."

His hand fell limp off the door. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then he growled. "Listen, runt," he said, actually stepping toward her, "I don't have time to play 20 Questions with you. I've got a busy job, and I need that scream energy _now_."

Unperturbed, she said, "I keep trying to ask you questions, and you never answer them! If you want me to do something for you, then you have to do something for me."

He smacked a hand to his face. Why is it that human children were so impudent? "Alright," he conceded. "One question. That's _all_."

She broke into a triumphant smile. "Where do you come from?"

"A city called Monstropolis. Now _scream_!"

True to her word, she let out an ear-splitting scream. Even Johnny, who was used to loud noises, nearly flinched at the piercing sound. Then he grinned and saluted the girl. "Hey, not bad. Thanks, kid!" And left.

Marley wasn't disappointed this time. She didn't mind if he had only let her ask one question. She knew he would be back again, and when he did come back, she would ask him yet another one.

Footsteps pounding in the hallway told her her parents had heard the scream.

Her mother opened the door in a rush, and demanded in a severe tone, "Marley, what on earth is going on?"

"I'm sorry," she answered, not sure what to say on the spur of the moment, "I...I saw a spider near my bed..."

Her mother let out a breath. "That's it? Marley, if you see a spider, come and get me - don't scream at the top of your lungs, I thought the world was coming to an end." She sighed and said, "Get some sleep now. Goodnight." She shut the door.

Feeling in much higher spirits that night, Marley turned off her light and settled into bed. It seemed she had finally found out a way to get the large purple monster to do what she wanted, or at least to answer the many questions that still buzzed in her head.

'This is great,' she thought as she gazed out of her window at the clouds sailing past the moon. 'I can ask him anything I want now, and all I have to do is scream!'

With that, she eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Fear Co.'s top Scarer was met with a thunderstruck assistant.

Johnny's face contorted in an amused grin. "What's with you? You look like you've seen a human kid."

"Sir, we...we got three full canisters out of that one!"

"Three?" He raised an eyebrow. "I underestimated that kid's voice." He then slapped a hand on Charlie's back. "See now? Re-visiting this kid turned out to be a good idea. In fact it's better than it ever was before. Now that she's screaming voluntarily, she's giving it all she's got."

"Yeah. Maybe you were right about this whole thing," Charlie admitted, giving a half-smile. "I can't argue that this is the most energy we've ever obtained from a single door."

"Let's keep going; maybe we can finally break our own record."

The duo spent the rest of the day in a good mood. Their numbers were increasing bit by bit, can after can was being filled, and Johnny showed no signs of tiring.

"You know," he said when they were taking a break, "it's too bad we can't get all these kids to scream voluntarily."

"I understand how you feel, sir. But we're doing great today, even if these kids are screaming spontaneously. Maybe it's good that you're keeping this to one kid only."

He shrugged. "Could be. But you gotta admit, the possibilities are tempting."

When their shift was almost over, Charlie announced that he had to rush home a bit early.

"I've got dinner plans with Wendy," he said, referring to his girlfriend. He quickly stuffed things from his locker into his duffel bag.

"No problem, buddy. See you tomorrow." Johnny was preoccupied and only half-listened to Charlie's words.

Several other monsters were at their lockers, getting ready to leave. The scare floor would be shutting down soon.

Johnny took a deep breath, got up off the bench, and headed out of the room. He walked down hallway after hallway on his way toward the main exit, and stopped in front of the scare floor. He stood there for a minute, as if struggling with an important decision. Finally, he entered the scare floor and walked over to his station. Most of the lights in the room were off, only a select few providing a dim glow in the once-thriving area. It was always strange being on a scare floor after-hours.

He set his duffel bag down and sighed deeply, staring at his door station.

A notion had been brewing inside of him all day, and he struggled with it. He didn't like what he was about to do, but a nagging feeling inside of him told him that he wouldn't get any rest until it was done.

He brought forth the white door with the brass handle, slid the card through the slot, and activated it. He was taking a huge chance, and he knew it. He turned the handle and went in, all the while hoping that no one would snoop around and catch him.

The child's room was dark, but Johnny had excellent night vision and could see her sleeping form in the dark. Or what he thought was her sleeping form, for she sat up in bed the minute she heard her closet door open.

"...Johnny monster?" she said.

"Just 'Johnny,' kid. Sorry to wake you, but -"

"That's alright, you didn't wake me. I wasn't sleeping."

"Right. Well, listen, I shouldn't be here right now - the scare floor's closed, but I need to ask you a question."

She scooted forward to the edge of her bed. "What?"

"That scare you gave today did wonders for us. Do you have any brothers or sisters you could bring along next time?"

She shook her head. "I'm an only child."

He huffed. "Alright. Well, take care then."

"Johnny!"

"_Shh!_ What is it?" he said with a frown.

She got out of bed and approached him.

He backed away. "Easy, kid."

She stopped, confused.

Noticing the puzzled look on her face, he explained, "We monsters aren't supposed to let human kids touch us." The moment he said it, he felt he might possibly have just made a huge mistake. Countless things could go wrong if even one human child knew such things that he was telling. It was a long shot, but still.

"Why not?"

"Uh..." Truth be told, he didn't really know why, anymore. If the rumors going around that human kids weren't toxic were true, he didn't see any reason why monsters should fear physical contact with them anymore. He supposed it was still a deep-rooted fear sitting in the back of the mind's of all monsters. Even so, he could think of no other answer to give, so he improvised. "It just isn't safe. We uh...don't wanna hurt you by accident..."

"Oh…" Her face contorted in slight confusion. It was clear she didn't understand the logic behind it.

"Come on, kid, what do you want? I gotta get out of here fast."

She snapped to attention and said, "I just wanted to give you something." She went over to her desk and retrieved the item. She went over and handed it to him, which he gingerly took.

It was a picture she had drawn of him.

"Um...thanks…" he said, in less-than-convincing tones. He looked as though she had given him a mud-pie instead of a drawing. "Alright, well, gotta go."

"Bye bye, Johnny!" she said in a loud whisper.

* * *

Johnny had made it in and back out of Marley's room without anyone having noticed. His heart was racing on account of his brash decision.  
He retrieved his duffel bag, stuffed the drawing inside, and finally left the building for home.

On the way back, he thought about the encounter he had just had with the little girl. He reflected, once again, on the fact that what he had done was certainly a bit drastic, and he blamed a lot of it on his success that day. Perhaps he just got over-excited. Even though he had disobeyed the rules and entered a child's bedroom after-hours, he still believed it would have been worth it, if Marley did have brothers or sisters who could help contribute some scream energy.

He reminded himself, also, that he would have to come clean to his boss and let him know the real situation. Maybe the fact that he got three cans full of scream energy from one kid would help convince him that Johnny's method was a good one. He refused to continue living in secrecy like this, though. Lying didn't tend to be his way of dealing with things, and he didn't plan on making it that way. He was a monster who got as far as he did on true talent - not by underhanded means.

Something was also bothering him as he drove back home, some feeling of foreboding that took a while to pinpoint - and then he remembered.

He had touched the kid's artwork.

Something about that made him uneasy, in spite of the new-found knowledge about human children. After thinking about it for a while longer, he dismissed it as backlash from old beliefs, and tried not to think about it too much.

When he got home, he unloaded his bag and took his clothes to the wash. He then pulled out the picture that Marley drew for him, and took the time to study it more closely. It was actually pretty comical. Sure, the kid was a good artist and all, but it was amusing to see her representation of him. His horns were drawn larger than they really were, his fur a deep-dark shade of purple, and his arms were spread out in a scaring-stance.

It was strange to say, but he and Marley really had been familiar with each other for years. Only recently did they actually take to conversing with one another. It was odd to think that the little girl who used to scream in true terror when he came out of her closet was now drawing pictures of him in what could only be admiration…or interest, perhaps.

He set the paper down, but changed his mind and hid it in a drawer somewhere. He didn't want anyone coming over and asking him where it came from.

He spent the rest of the evening getting some tasks done before retiring into leisurely activity.

The phone rang at one point, and he answered it to greet the sound of his mother's voice.

"Hey, mom. How's it going?"

_Everything's fine, Johnny - I just wanted to see what you've been up to._

"Same thing as usual, frightening little children, spending time with the guys. You know, life stuff."

_Uh-huh. Well, your father and grandfather have been thinking about arranging a family reunion._

"A reunion, eh? Sounds good, we haven't had one of those in a long time."

_He's talking with everyone else to see what they think, but I wanted to let you know, just in case. Think you could get any time off?_

"I don't know, mom. Work's been kinda tricky lately, but I can try."

_We'll figure something out. You've never missed a family get-together before._

"Let's not tarnish that record, then." He chuckled.

By the time their conversation had ended, Johnny was ready for bed.

As always, it took some time before he actually drifted off to sleep.

His last thought before he lost consciousness was, 'Tomorrow, I'm gonna tell Mr. Cobswell about the kid.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Charlie paced back and forth before the fresh door, hands clasped behind his back. He kept glancing at the clock, but there was still no sign of Mr. Worthington.

Johnny had told Charlie that he had something important to discuss with Mr. Cobswell, but now a half hour had passed, and the small yellow monster was getting anxious; after all, he wasn't getting paid to pace.

In another part of the building, two monsters were having a slightly heated discussion behind closed doors.

"It's out of the question, Worthington," Mr. Cobswell seethed, trying to keep his temper in check. His clawed hands were splayed on his desk, barely resisting the urge to dig his nails straight through it.

He was standing before his best Scarer, tall, intimidating, steadfast against the ideas he was trying to put in his head. Johnny only leaned back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest.

"Nothing's gone wrong," he said in a much calmer tone.

"_Yet_," he pressed, taking a step closer. "_Yet_, Worthington. I don't care what sort of preposterous revolution Monsters Inc. has come up with. We are not going to deal with it by taking to drastic measures ourselves!"

"With all due respect, sir, measures like these aren't drastic anymore."

His boss scoffed and whirled away. "I know...what with all of this new information they're finding out at that company about human children. Those so-called 'facts' have yet to be legitimized. Change may be taking place all around us, Mr. Worthington, but there are some things that _never_ change."

Johnny frowned and leaned up. "Sir -"

"We will discuss this no more. Return to your station, Mr. Worthington."

With that, Johnny left the office in (as he thought) "temporary defeat."

Charlie was still waiting on the scare floor, and his excitement upon seeing his Scarer finally approaching was stumped by the unpleasant look on Johnny's face. Charlie was afraid even to say anything.

"Get the door going, rookie," Johnny grumbled.

It had been a long day, and by the end of it, Johnny was more than ready to throw in the towel - when he remembered that he was supposed to ask his boss about time off for the family reunion. Then he thought better of it, realizing that it'd be more prudent to put the request in when his boss was in a better mood.

The next day did, indeed, find Mr. Cobswell in a remarkably high-spirited way. Johnny was inclined to wonder about this, but his boss beat him to the question.

"Good news, Worthington - we've made our quota this month with scream energy hitting the top charts, and then some."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "That's great news, sir. And I'm sure _none_ of it can be traced back to our Problem Child?"

Cobswell's face fell, but only slightly. "Alright, Worthington. I'm sure she undoubtedly contributed a good amount to our numbers, but don't forget that you're not the only Scarer in the company."

"I'm the only Scarer who's getting a kid to scream for us."

Cobswell sighed, then looked around. He signaled Johnny into his office and closed the door. "Listen, Worthington," he began, "I see how dead-set you are on making this..._bargain_ with the kid, work. I will acknowledge that she pulled through just as you said she would. But you need to understand what's at stake here." He want off on a tangent about the danger of getting too personal with human children, the risk it posed to the monster world, the trouble it would cause them with the CDA, and so on.

Johnny listened patiently, but his resolve was immovable. "Sir," he said when his boss had finished, "if you allow me, I will personally see to it that nothing endangers us, _or_ the company. The second anything goes wrong, I'll have the door shredded."

"If anything goes wrong, it may be too late by then."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

Cobswell fixed his employee with an icy glare. "If you remember, Worthington, a certain child-related catastrophe that occurred at Monsters Inc. not long ago..."

"How could I forget," he drawled, putting a hand to his forehead. "But look how it turned out for them. They're doing better than they ever have before."

Cobswell heaved a great sigh for the umpteenth time, gazed at Johnny for what seemed like ages, then opened his mouth. "Alright," he said slowly. "Alright. I will allow you to continue visiting this child, in order that she may help to increase our numbers. When I said I trusted you, Worthington, I meant it. _But_," he held up a finger, "be aware that I am holding you personally responsible for anything untoward that may happen. Because you seem to _insist_ so much on doing this."

Johnny thanked his boss and opened the door to make his way to the scare floor.

"Mr. Worthington," his boss called before he left. "Don't make any more contact with the child than is necessary. She may be willing to scream as loud as she can, but I beg of you not to treat this like a social rendezvous."

Johnny felt a huge load lifted from him as he made his way onto the scare floor.

Now that he was no longer sneaking behind his boss's back, he felt the confidence he had been missing flow back into his system. No more deceit, and all the permission he would ever need to keep carrying out this task. He could see the company's numbers rising dramatically as the kid would continue to give it her all for the sake of their energy. And who knows? Maybe Fear Co. would create a revolution of its own - maybe even one to rival Monsters Inc.

The possibilities were racing through his mind as he approached a very relieved-looking Charlie.

"Hey, rookie. Good news. Cobswell's agreed to my idea." He smirked.

His face went from relief to near-disbelief. "He agreed to it? But, _how?_"

"It wasn't easy," Johnny admitted. "It took some persuasion, but I think he's finally seeing the light."

"Well that's...that's great news, sir," he said, half-heartedly, unsure of his own feelings on the matter.

If Johnny noticed the subdued tone in his assistant's voice, he didn't show it. He was looking forward to a productive day of scaring. "Bring in the doors, buddy, we're gonna give it our all today."

Johnny wasn't scheduled to "scare" Marley that day, but he was still in a good mood by the end of it. His mood lifted even higher when he had put a request in for some time off, and found out later that his request had been granted. He planned on calling his mother as soon as he got home.

"Hey, mom," he drawled when he reached her. "I just wanted to let you know I got some time off. I'll be able to make it to the reunion."

_'That's wonderful, Johnny - your father and I look forward to seeing you. And…'_

"Yeah?"

_'Well, your father also has something he wants to talk with you about, when you get here.'_

"Sure, no problem," he said, but frowned. From his mother's tone of voice, it didn't sound like he was looking to have a light discussion. What could he possibly want now? It always seemed to be something with his father. "Well, I gotta get going, I'm working early tomorrow."

_Alright, dear. I'll see you next month._

Johnny lied in bed, thinking about what his mother had told him. He didn't like the way she sounded, when she said his father wanted to have a talk with him. His mind turned the matter over and over, and still he couldn't figure out what his father might want to talk to him about.

A father-son discussion wouldn't bother most people, but Johnny and his father weren't "most people." Johnny Worthington II had immensely high expectations for his son, and spent most of Johnny's childhood making sure he would never let their family's reputation down. So far as Johnny could tell, there was no reason why his dad had to come down on him for anything.

...But, his mother's voice…

His thoughts blended into one another as he finally fell to sleep.

The weeks passed by quickly. At work, Johnny was able to make a few more visits to Marley.

As per usual, she demanded that he answer one of her many questions before she would even think about screaming. Johnny often found himself wondering what kind of parents would raise such a cheeky kid - but then, some kids were that way regardless of their parenting. After all, the same was true with a lot of monster kids. He had no children of his own, and didn't spend a whole lot of time with monster children - but his insight into the ways of younglings was keen.

Interacting with Marley was his first experience in dealing with a human kid on a psychological level. From what he had gleaned during these interactions, human kids weren't that different from monster kids at all.

"Kid," Johnny growled and stared at the 10-year-old from under bushy eyebrows, "are you gonna make a habit of this question game?"

"Well…" she hesitated, as if unsure how to answer. As seemed to be her habit whenever he entered the room, she approached him, padding across the floor with her socks loose on her feet, hair disheveled. "I just wanna know about you, and where you come from - I've never seen another monster besides you, and...well, you never wanna answer my questions!"

Johnny was slightly taken aback at how angry this seemed to make her. Glancing at her door, which was shut, he said, "I've answered enough of your questions, kid. It's against our rules to go blabbing things to a human."

"But I promise I won't tell anyone!"

He stood there a moment, contemplating. He put his hands on his hips and regarded her. "Alright. If we're gonna do this, let's get it over with. What do you wanna know that I haven't told you already?"

Marley's face beamed with joy. She was so excited, she actually ran back to her bed and pounced on it, then turned to face him. Johnny took a few more steps into her room, but was careful to be within quick reach of the closet door. He knew he couldn't afford to do this; he shouldn't be spending more than a handful of seconds in her room, or the others would get suspicious. But quenching her curiosity would (hopefully) make his work with her easier in the long-run. It'd be great to come into her room and not wrestle with her curiosity about himself and his world.

How much time he actually spent in there, he didn't know - but he was barraged with a ton of questions by the little imp, and grudgingly answered all that he could. There were some questions she asked that he flat-out refused to answer, much to her disappointment. Before long, the tables started turning: instead of Marley threatening not to scream for Johnny, Johnny began threatening never to visit Marley again if she didn't. He assumed, of course, that she liked seeing him, and would thus be disappointed if he never came back.

Her eyes grew wide when he said that, and she actually looked somewhat frightened. She looked down at her folded hands. "I'll scream," she said, after a while, then looked up at him. "But don't leave." Her eyes were two pleading pools of water.

Johnny couldn't find it in himself to take advantage of her defeat, but he said, "If you keep screaming, I won't. Remember, kid, we need that scream energy. It's highly important to us monsters. Understand?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off him.

"Good. Feel like giving me a scream?"

She nodded. "Right now?"

"Fire away."

She screamed as loud as she possibly could, this time much louder than before. The silence that filled the room was deafening.

Johnny grinned, showing his sharp, gleaming teeth. "You're one good customer, kid. I gotta go." He stood up.

"Promise you'll come back?" she blurted out in a voice louder than she meant.

His hand on the doorknob, he turned to look at her, and gave her a playful salute. "I promise, kid."

She smiled, and he left. When the door had shut with a click, Marley - for a reason she didn't know - got out of bed and headed for the closet door. Maybe...just maybe, she would be able to see their world this time. Maybe she could get a glimpse of it, just this once…

But upon opening it, she was met with only the dismal sight of her closet, scattered with books, boxes, and stuffed animals. She stood there for a few seconds, as if willing Johnny to show up again, but at last she gave up and closed the door.

His departures were always hard to endure.

* * *

Luckily for Johnny, Charlie made no inquiries as to why he was in the kid's bedroom for so long. He realized that it hadn't actually been that long - but for being that he was only supposed to go in there and get the girl to scream, it had been some time. Charlie was smart enough to assume, of course, that Johnny probably tended to exchange a few words with the kid, and so didn't hold it too much against him for his prolonged visits. And who knows, maybe the kid was being obstinate, distracting Worthington from his main task.

After that visit, Johnny didn't see Marley again until after his family reunion - a reunion that was quickly approaching.

When his last day came, he took all the time he could to make preparations for travel. Not that his parents lived terribly far, but they were on the other side of Monstropolis, and Monstropolis covered a huge area.

He packed his things and loaded them into his car, ready to make the drive to his parents' place, where family reunions were sometimes held (he hoped this year that it would take place at Brambles Park, as his family was rather large and parks offered more room and fresh air.)

During the drive, he tried not to think too much about the conversation he was going to have with his father. He didn't even know what it was about, so there was no sense dwelling on it.

Several CD's later, he finally came into view of his parents' manor.

'Home sweet home,' he thought humorlessly as he pulled into one of the many driveways. No sooner had he retrieved his luggage and shut the door when his mother came out to greet him.

She was a terrifying monster, very much alike in appearance to Johnny - slenderer, but no less terrifying. Two large, dark horns jutted from the top of her head; not as large as her sons (he got his horns from his father), but formidable all the same. She grinned, revealing a row of gleaming sharp teeth.

"Glad you made it, son!" she called, making the trek down to the driveway.

"Me too, mom." They hugged, and made their way toward the mansion's main entrance.

Shirley was thrilled that her son was able to make it. She asked him a string of habitual questions, about work and home life, to which he also answered habitually.

"Where's dad?"

"He's on the phone with uncle Jerry."

"What does he want to talk with me about?"

She hesitated a moment, then said, "Work stuff, mostly. He's been a bit concerned about you."

"_Concerned_?" he replied in an "I don't believe that" tone. "Doesn't sound like him."

She gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry about it. Let's go in the house and you can refresh yourself."

Johnny stepped inside, and immediately a wave of nostalgia flooded his senses. He remembered the smell of his home, the appearance...the memories.

The Worthington's lived luxuriously. Elegant furniture and decor lined each room, and in some hung large paintings of famous Scarers within the family ancestry. There was even a row of marble busts for some of them. Hissian carpets lined the polished floors. Rustic chandeliers donned the ceilings. Every inch of the house was adorned with austerity.

"Good to be back," he said, under his breath.

Footsteps sounded near the room, and in stepped Johnny "John-John" Worthington II. He grinned when he saw his son by the door. "Well come on in, son - you're not a visitor here!" He was a truly terrifying specimen. He was like a much larger version of his son, only scarier, if that were possible. His short fur was a much deeper shade of purple. His hands were large, and out of each finger jutted a gleaming black claw. His eyes were bright and penetrating, like something looming out of the depths of the sea on a black night.

"Great to see you too, dad," Johnny said, and before he could react, his father enveloped him in a rough embrace.

Johnny - bag still in hand - nearly choked. "Dad, let me set my bag down."

The family congregated to the kitchen, where a four-eyed, tentacled butler was preparing some hors d'oeuvres.

They sat around and talked for a while until, some time later, Johnny's father gave the signal for his mother to leave the room.

"I think I'll go see about the picnic arrangements," she said, and scuttled away.

"Well, son," his father started.

'This must be it,' thought Johnny. 'Here goes nothing.'

"I hear times are tough at work," he continued, fixing his son with an intense gaze.

Johnny rubbed the back of his head. "Right. Well, they haven't been the easiest they've ever been."

"Even for a Worthington?" he detected more than a hint of disapproval in his father's voice.

Deciding to change tactics, he replied, "Things are changing, dad. It was rocky at first, but our numbers have been soaring ever since -" he stopped short.

"Ever since what?" he pressed after a moment.

"Well…" Johnny averted his gaze. His face contorted in a troubled frown.

Before his father had a chance to question his son, Shirley entered the room in a fit. "Cousin Rachel isn't able to come!" she seethed.

The guys stared at her.

"...What?"

That, thankfully, was enough to avert their attention from the conversation for the time being. Johnny really didn't feel like telling his father the specifics of his job situation. It was hard enough coming clean to his boss, and he wasn't at all sure how his father would take it. If he knew anything about Mr. Worthington, he knew that chances were, he wouldn't take the news well at all.  
His father was a firm believer in tradition, which - if Johnny were to be honest - he wasn't following at all...not by making deals with human kids.  
Mr. Worthington hadn't been too keen on the news about Monsters Inc. changing their energy-obtaining tactics. Even though the evidence was sound, he believed that their Scarers should have stuck to the "old ways" and continued frightening children.

It made him glad that his son worked at Fear Co., and that that company was still holding true to traditional monster values.

* * *

Johnny settled into bed that night, thinking about the reunion that would (thankfully) take place at Brambles Park tomorrow. He was looking forward to reacquainting himself with his cousins, aunts and uncles. It had been a long time since he last saw them.

When tomorrow dawned, the Worthington's got together all of the picnic items they would be bringing, and arrived early at the park to get things set up.

While Shirley was spreading a tablecloth over a long wooden picnic table, Johnny Jr. took the opportunity to confront his son again about his performance at work.

"Listen, son," he growled, trying to keep his tone low, "I don't like this talk about the company falling on hard times. Even if it's true, there's no reason you should be one of them. You're a _Worthington_."

Johnny gritted his teeth. He wanted so much to tell his dad about the great success he's been having at work - but that would mean telling him about the human kid, and Johnny was not about to go that far, not with his father.

He decided to tell the truth, without giving too much detail. With any luck, his dad would accept his word for it and drop the subject.

"I was gonna tell you, dad - I've been having a lot of success at work lately, a lot more than the other Scarers. My assistant and I have decided to up our game, put a little extra growl in our grin, and work harder than ever before. So whatever rumors you've been hearing, they sure don't apply to me." It came naturally to Johnny, to lather his words in confidence and suave. It never left anyone in doubt of his word, however, this was his father he was talking to.

"They'd better not. You just keep hard at the work you're doing, and so help me, don't ever let there be a blemish on your record."

It wasn't long before family members started arriving. There were aunts and uncles, and plenty of cousins - some of them around Johnny's age, quite a few younger. There was, of course, Johnny's grandparents - Johnny Worthington Sr. being one of the more revered figures in the family. He was not only the patriarch, but well known to everyone in the family (and countless monsters outside the family, as well) for being the Top Scarer for years on end at Monsters Inc. The younger relatives gathered around to hear him tell stories about his days as a Top Scarer.  
No one wanted to breach the fact that Monsters Inc. had ceased to scare children.

When everyone had arrived, the fun really began.

The Worthington's family always hosted scare competitions whenever they got together. There were games for the youngest kids and for the older participants. Johnny had a great time with his family members, and even began to forget his father's relentless words of pressure.

Everyone was having such a good time, they didn't notice the sun going down behind the hills. Monsters, as a rule, were not afraid of the dark - but many of the family had jobs they needed to scuttle back to the next day. Slowly, the group began to disperse, tables were cleaned, trash thrown away, games wrapped up. The family reunion had come to an end.

Johnny and his parents were the last ones there.

"What a wonderful day this was," Shirley said as they made their way to the car.

Brambles Park was still filled with a few lingering locals finishing a nightly game of soccer. It was a pleasant atmosphere; the air was still slightly warm, and the last rays of the sun began to merge with the dark of the night.

"Do you really have to leave tomorrow?" Shirley asked as they drove home.

"I have to, work's been more hectic than ever before. I can't afford to miss another day."

"It's better he goes back, Shirley," Johnny Jr. said. "He's gotta keep at it if he wants to break that record."

"He's already broken the record, John," she said.

"His own record, then. No one in our family will stand for anything less."

"You won't receive anything less," Johnny insisted.

* * *

Early next day, Johnny said goodbye to his parents and drove back home.

His shift started later that day, so he would have enough time to rest a little and get ready for work.

By the time his shift started, he was feeling refreshed and at full strength. He was greeted by dozens of monsters as he entered the main doors of Fear Co. But no one was happier to see him than Charlie.

"Welcome back, sir!" he said.

"Thanks, buddy. Ready to bring in the big numbers?"

"Ready as ever, sir."

It was during the later part of the night, on a break, that Johnny received a request from Cobswell to report to his office.

'_Now_ what?' Johnny thought, as he set down his drink and left the lounge.

He walked briskly down the hallway until he found his boss's office. He knocked, and Cobswell let him in.

"Mr. Worthington - welcome back, first of all. Have a nice reunion?"

"Same as ever, sir."

"I'll come straight to the point. I received a call from your father several minutes ago."

Johnny sat straight up in his chair. "My father?"

"He seemed to want to confirm with me the status report you gave him yesterday."

Johnny didn't know whether to feel confused, angry, or embarrassed. "My father never calls to check up on me. Why would he…?"

"Listen, Worthington," Cobswell began sympathetically, "I know you have a lot to live up to, what with your family history. Your grandfather was Monsters Inc.'s Top Scarer. Your father the same after him. And...I understand that you are the first in your family to work for this company. Is that correct?"

"It is, sir," he said, grabbing tight to the chair handles. How could his dad humiliate him like this?

"...If you don't mind me asking," he began slowly, "did you bother to tell your father about your little project?"

He huffed. "I didn't tell him about that - it'd be better to save it for later, when he's ready to hear it."

"Do you think it's a good idea to withhold something so vital from your father?"

"I wouldn't withhold anything unless I thought it was necessary, sir."

Cobswell nodded. "Well, let's leave it at that, then. I'm sorry for all the fuss, Mr. Worthington."

He stood up. "Don't worry about it, just forget it. Can I go back to my station now? Break's just about over."

Cobswell nodded, and Johnny was dismissed.

He tried not to feel too angry as he made his way back to his station - but he just couldn't believe that his dad would dare to call and check up on him like that. As if Johnny needed that, at his age. It was odd, too, as his dad had never been the compassionate type. Most of his life, he was only concerned about pushing Johnny to his limits, and training his son in the ways of a Scarer. Johnny was an only child, and so it had always been up to him to carry on the respected name of Worthington. His father would never have settled for anything less than having his son be the Top Scarer - whether it was at Fear Co. or Monsters Inc.

Still, it was odd…

Charlie already had a door waiting for him when he got back.

"Everything alright, sir?"

"Everything's fine," he snapped. "Let's do this, rookie. We're in for a long night."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As time wore on, the company's numbers steadily began to increase.

They weren't on par with Monsters Inc., but it did wonders in boosting everyones' morale. The Scarers all felt it, their assistants grinned at each other each morning as they punched in, and even the employees that didn't work on a scare floor found themselves heading to work in an above-average chipper mood. The entire building seemed to come alive with the energy obtained from good, wholesome screams that its inhabitants worked so hard to obtain.

Charlie was perhaps the happiest monster there. He never mentioned it to anyone else, but he felt that his partner was largely responsible for the satisfying increase in the company quotas. He felt a surge of pride at having been granted the honor of being Mr. Worthingtons' personal scream can assistant. He had never been an overly-ambitious monster. Indeed, throughout his life, he was the sort of person who blended into the wallpaper, slipped between the cracks, and was generally overlooked by most. Not that he ever minded that. But this new-found sense of accomplishment and glory gave him a taste of something he never thought he would feel.  
Praise. Recognition. Even though he chose to keep his mouth closed, somehow he sensed the slight envy of the other assistants when they stole a glance toward him and his renowned scare partner performing at their best.

Johnny Worthington, however, was wiser than his comrade at this point in his life.

Though he was not immune to the effect that their increase in energy had on everyone in the company, his pride was tempered with a sense of wariness and caution. He also knew that in spite of the great results he had been getting out of the ten-year-old, their expanding numbers weren't a result of her effort alone.

Every day he showed up to work, his attention was focused, his concentration solid, and his nerves as stern as steel. He would crouch on the ground in ready position, muscular shoulders hunched in anticipation of springing through the door, brows lowered and determined. His gaze never averted.

It was odd to Charlie, who noticed his partners' increased focus and drive. Initially, he had assumed that the energy success had Johnny all the more motivated to work harder and keep the numbers climbing.  
After a few weeks had passed by, he wasn't so sure.

Still, he kept his misgivings to himself as his partner performed day after day, clearly giving it his all. He knew, of course, that Johnny was never very pleased by the fact that Monsters Inc. had been doing so well ever since the company had abandoned scaring altogether. Perhaps that's why he seemed distracted lately. He wanted Fear Co.s' numbers to increase considerably, to show the world that Scarers still had their place, even if scream energy wasn't as powerful as laugh energy.

Charlie was only half-right in his suppositions, though.

When one day he decided to ask Johnny why he had been acting so tense lately, the large purple monster answered:

"This is still a dangerous job, rookie. Toxic or not, you gotta be careful when entering the human world."

His answer seemed half-finished, but it was obvious that Johnny would say no more. As per usual, Charlie shook his head, putting it out of his mind, and scurried to change out the canisters.

Mr. Cobswell, naturally, approved of their change in luck (or rather, _skill_.) He would occasionally mention the older child to Worthington, but as there seemed to be nothing unusual going on, he let it be, for the most part. Johnny was grateful for the reprieve in the drama, even if he did understand his boss's need for caution.

Marley had been coming through for him during each visit.

She still demanded that he satisfy a few curiosities of hers, but so far she hadn't truly asked him anything he couldn't answer. Not really.

And, as a rule - much as he would have liked to change it - her door could only be accessed at certain times. Not to say Fear Co. couldn't open a portal to a certain door whenever they wished, but it was against protocol. Even though Cobswell understood the nature of Worthingtons' visits to the ten-year-old, he refused to grant access to the door more often than the rules deemed necessary.

"To do so would only increase the odds of running into trouble," he said to himself pensively, as he stared out of the window in his office overlooking Monstropolis. The words came out mechanically, as if he had been repeated some age-old adage.

He sipped at some coffee and turned away from the stunning view, relieving himself of the ten and slithering back to the desk.

He had been mulling over Mr. Worthingtons' unique approach to "problem child."

'Marley,' he mentally corrected himself. It was easier than referring to her as 'problem child,' even though it was not customary for monsters to call the children they scared by their name. It was an ancient rule that the city's forefathers had founded. No one really knew why, but most guessed it to be because they didn't want monsters getting attached to the children - as unlikely as that seemed.

Still, Jeffrey Cobswell was no fool, and he certainly wasn't ignorant. He stoically recalled the tragedy that had befallen Monsters Inc. when there had been a child breach directly from their factory, causing city-wide panic and frantic activity from the CDA.  
It wasn't so much the incident that perturbed him, though.

Monsters Inc. had covered their tracks amazingly well, drawing attention away from their blunder by revolutionizing their tactics to obtain energy. Indeed, they had done so well that most, if not all, monsters were content to ignore the incident that occurred - especially seeing as how everything turned out well, everyone was safe, and the company was doing better than ever.

Cobswell knew better. He knew how the CDA operated, and that they had covered up the incident so as to prevent the public from ever knowing about it. Nevermind the fact that countless monsters had seen the child running wild through Harryhausen's restaurant. Like the CDA said: it never happened.

Yet, if the infinitely smaller rumors circulating around from long-ago were true, the CEO of Monsters Inc. - none other than James P. Sullivan - had actually formed an attachment to the human child. Some even spoke of Sullivan visiting the child on occasion, that he had somehow managed to resurrect her door in order to visit her.

There was no way of verifying the rumor, of course. But it was unsettling, all the same, in fact nothing short of absurdity. It was one of the many dangers of being a monster that exposed him or herself to human beings; that pesky thing known as "attachment."

Those working on "Laugh Floors" at Monsters Inc. were a bit freer when it came to interacting with human children. Naturally they had to be, considering the nature of their work. It's why Cobswell was thankful that the majority of his Scarers showed little to no interest in prolonging their interaction with human children any more than was necessary. He did not want his employees forming attachments of that sort. Not that he believed they would, but one never knew.

Worthington, meanwhile, may have an unorthodox association with one of the children, but it certainly didn't mean he was getting _attached_.

Cobswell knew his top Scarer well. He knew that Worthington (like himself) disapproved of the methods that Monsters Inc. was using. It went against tradition, against everything that made a monster a monster.  
Worthingtons' frequent visits to that particular child were helping the company, even if it was only a fraction. Every little bit helped, and a fraction could make all the difference. It's why he allowed him to continue his association with the child.

Was it cheating?

Technically, no.  
Legally? Perhaps.

The CEO sighed and set aside a small stack of papers he was to review for the day. His brow furrowed in concentration. He reached up a dark-blue tentacle and gave the first signature of the day. But the current change in course that the company had seen kept sending a string of thoughts that threatened to breach his focus.

He knew full-well that legally, what he was allowing to happen was against the CDA's rules, against society's rules, and probably a hundred other rules that he couldn't think of at the moment.  
He knew that Worthington knew it as well. And yet, it was easy to tell ones' self that what he was doing now wasn't that much different from what he was doing before. He still entered the child's bedroom, and she still screamed. The reasons for her screaming may be different, but that was a minor detail. At least, he certainly hoped so.

He heaved yet another sigh and eased himself up out of the chair. Deciding that another cup of coffee was in order, he headed out of the office in the hope of distracting the endless worries circling around in his thoughts.

* * *

Johnny sat in the breakroom with Chet and Charlie. They were discussing the days' events, as it was the last break of their shift before they got off work.

Chet walked over to the table, slurping a cup of coffee. "How's the scaring life been treating you guys?" he lisped.

"It's been great, just great!" Charlie beamed, stirring his own cup. "I'm telling you, Chet, I'm envious that you actually got to go to college with this guy. He's a go-getter!"

"Of course he is," Chet affirmed. "After all, he was the top scare student at Monsters University! They don't come any better than that." He looked over at his frat brother for approval.

Johnny allowed a slight smirk, but his expression was vaguely troubled.

"Hey, what gives?" Chet scuttled over to his friend. Charlie cleared his throat and took a seat at the end of the table.

"It's that kid," Johnny grumbled, his arms folded and feet propped up on a spare chair. "She's been getting even more demanding than usual."

Chet stared at his friend. He knew full well what kid Johnny was talking about. "Demanding?"

"Yeah," he leaned up. "Every time I zoom in there, the kid's gotta ask a thousand questions before she even _thinks_ about screaming."

Chet scratched at his head. He wasn't sure what to say, being that he had never so much as spoken to a human before, let alone made a bargain with one. Charlie realized he was still stirring his coffee, and promptly set the spoon down. He didn't want to give too much of his input on the matter; he disagreed with it altogether.

"I even told the kid that I'd stop visiting her if she kept on with the curiosity." He was frowning. "It worked at first, but not for long."

"Geez. How many questions can one kid have?" Chet wondered.

Johnny gave him a look. "You'd be surprised." He shrugged uncomfortably. "She's only ten. Even ten-year-olds can forget things. Still, it hasn't been easy."

Charlie ventured, carefully, "Maybe it was better back when you were truly scaring her."

Johnny shot him a mild glare. "All evidence to the contrary."

"Well guys, I gotta get back to my station. Be seeing you, Johnny! Good luck with the kid!" Chet left the breakroom.

"Come on, rookie. Our break's about over, too." They headed out of the empty room. It was 9:30, and many of the employees had clocked out.

"Speaking of which, who's gonna be our lucky last customer for the day?"

Charlie held a clipboard in his hand, turning page after page until he came to the last one. He paused when he scanned the writing. "It looks like..._the one_, sir. Problem...child…?" He nearly squeaked, not enjoying mention of her after their little chat in the break room. He looked up at his partner, but Johnny towered over the yellow monster, who wasn't able to notice the look of calm determination on his face.

"I think it's time I try a different tactic on this squirt," he said, more to himself than Charlie.

"Sir?"

He waved a hand. "Nothing. Just let me at it, I'll deal with it."

Curious, but not willing to question any further, Charlie merely nodded and went to hook up the last portal of the day.

There were still a few Scarers on the floor putting in their last few numbers before punching out. Faint echoes of childrens' screams could be heard as the energy filtered into the canisters. The clank of cans being removed, carted away, and replaced again filled the large area with something of a melancholy note to mark the end of another day on the scare floor.

Charlie arranged for Marley's door to be brought down and hooked up. Scarer and Assistant both watched as the door stopped above the portal and lowered itself down to them, settling between the mechanism with a note of finality. The door hooked up, it sat there awaiting the arrival of Fear Co.'s top scarer, as if in challenge.

"Here goes," Johnny muttered under his breath.

The light buzzed on, and Johnny raced into the room, shutting the door behind him. It happened so fast, Charlie barely had time to blink.

Inside, the room was all dark, save for a slowly-rotating planetarium shining softly on the ceiling. Night lights were a very common thing among younger children, but somehow Johnny doubted that Marley had turned on the planetarium out of fear.

He was not at all surprised when she sat up in bed, wide awake. Clearly she had been waiting for him.

"Tell me, kid," was the first thing he said, "Exactly how do you know when I'm coming in here?"

She got out of bed and stepped toward him. "I never know when you'll come," she said, as if he ought to have known this. "That's why I stay up every night - just in case you _do_ show up."

He had been idly glancing around the room, but he looked back at her. "Wait...you stay up _every night?_"

She shrugged and nodded, as if it were nothing special.

He placed his fists on his hips. "I gotta hand it to you, kid, you're relentless."

She stared at him a moment, then said, "Wanna see something?"

"Wait, hold it - I can't stay here for long." He raised his hands in a placating gesture, hoping against hope that she wouldn't go off on another one of her "twenty questions" games.

She went over to her desk, turning back to him and beckoning him over. He stood there a moment, then sighed, and walked over to her.

"I made some more pictures. Wanna see?"

Before he could answer, she turned on a small desk lamp to reveal three different colored pencil drawings that were obviously supposed to be of him.

They stood there staring at them.

Johnny wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, he supposed that maybe he should be flattered that someone had chosen to draw him, of all things, and had put so much effort into it. On the other hand, it felt indescribably strange standing in a humans' bedroom, beside a human girl, staring at pictures of himself that a human had drawn. Needless to say, he had never been in a situation like this before.

"Those are...great, kid," he said in less-than-convincing tones. "Any particular reason why you seem to feel the need to draw _me?_"

She looked up at him, gazing at him for a long time, as if trying to find the answer in his face. "You're cool-looking," she finally said.

He knew that, of course. Yet he couldn't help but smirk. "It wasn't that long ago that you used to find me terrifying. So," he said, turning away from the drawings to face her. He straightened his back. "If I were to try and scare you, are you thinking that you wouldn't be scared?" There was a glint in his eyes, the very same one that she used to see as a much younger girl - back when he used to come out of her closet and give a bone-chilling roar that sent shivers down her spine. He suddenly dropped to the floor on all fours, smirking at her, only this one was considerably darker than the last. His mouth spread in a cruel grin, displaying his sharp teeth.

For a moment her eyes went wide, but her shoulders relaxed and a bona-fide grin spread across her mouth. She shook her head. "No," she said with the utmost confidence, mimicking his earlier gesture and placing her hands on her hips. "I wouldn't be scared."

Oh, how he was tempted to prove her wrong.

He barely drew back an inch, hunching his shoulders and splaying his hands, before he let out a bellowing, ear-shattering roar that seemed to shake the whole house. It cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter.

Marley let out a gasp and staggered back a few paces. Her hands flew to her ears, and she stood there transfixed, staring at him wide-eyed.  
When the roar had ended, the silence returned. Only now, it was deafening.

"Well," he chuckled, standing up. He gave an amused smirk. "I gotta say, you deserve _some_ credit. Most kids would've screamed their eyes out by now."

She still stood there, stunned, as if she never imagined he would try to scare her since they started communicating. But she stepped forward, looking up at him with large blue eyes. Her disheveled hair fell across her face. "That was _incredible_," she beamed, and (unexpectedly to Johnny) a smile appeared on her face. "You never roared like _that_ before!"

"No two roars are alike, kid," he said. "And speaking of which, I could sure use one from _you_."

She nodded, and without further ado, let out a scream as piercing as his had been booming.

He half-turned away from her toward the closet, as if watching the canister fill to the brim.

"Nicely done." He gave a half-smile.

She glanced toward her closed bedroom door. "You'd better hide or something, my parents will wonder what that roar was!"

Johnny frowned and made for the closet door.

"Wait, Johnny!" she whispered, and made a mad dash for her desk. She retrieved one of the drawings and ran to the closet. "Here, it's for you." She handed Johnny the picture, but before either of them could say anything, a knock was heard on the bedroom door. Johnny withdrew just in time for the other door to open. Marley's room disappeared from sight.

The last thing he heard were the concerned voices of her parents. He caught the lilt of Marley's whining voice saying, "it was the TV!" then all sound was swallowed up. He was back in the factory.

Charlie, by now, was hardly surprised that his partner lingered in the child's bedroom for as long as he did. He had, more or less, become used to it. The fact that he was able to fill several canisters from that girl alone helped to quiet his qualms.

"Top notch, sir," he said with a smile, giving the thumbs up. "You went out with a bang!"

He chuckled. "Darn right."

Charlie's smile faded when he saw the papers in Johnny's hand. "Uh, sir...what are those?"

Johnny glanced at the drawings. "Nothing, just something the kid gave me."

The yellow monster gulped. "Isn't that...dangerous?"

"What's dangerous about it? Human kids aren't toxic."

"It isn't just that, sir, it's…" he faltered under Johnny's glower. "Don't you think people will get suspicious if they see that? They might think you're...getting...attached…" His voice grew smaller with each word.

The scowl on Worthington's face said it all. There was no way he was ever going to get attached to some human kid. Not in a million years.

Charlie's cowering seemed to satisfy him. He straightened. "The kid practically shoved them into my hands as I was leaving. There wasn't time to do anything but take them along with me - her parents showed up pretty quick. As usual," he added in an undertone. He looked at his assistant. "Well don't just stand there, get that last can outta here so we can call it a day."

When the last part of their task was finally carried out, Johnny and Charlie parted ways for the night.

Johnny headed out to his car, jacket and duffel bag in hand. He had stuffed the drawings into the bag, idly wondering how many more the kid would try to 'bestow' on him during the course of their affiliation.

The drive home seemed longer than usual.  
Monstropolis was beautiful, but even more so at night. The city lights, the countless businesses and residential areas, the well-groomed gardens and fearsome ensemble that donned just about every structure was a sight to behold. He felt grateful to be living in such a place as this.

At stoplights, he would briefly glance toward the neighborhoods nearby. Windows were lit with soft warm glows from within. He imagined families getting together for dinner. He felt a surge of pride, too, as he knew that the company he worked for was part of why monsters everywhere were able to shed that glow during the evening.

After he arrived home, he unpacked his bag and then went to get a snack. He would have to be at work bright and early tomorrow, but even so Johnny spent much of his time at night awake. With a drink in hand, he idly made his way toward the living room where he had left his bag, only half unpacked. Lying tossed on the couch were the drawings that Marley had made, quite possibly for him alone. He didn't know whether she'd been making them specifically for him, or if she had decided to give them to him on the spur of the moment. Regardless, though he certainly was no art critic, he had to admit that the pictures of him were improving. She got his face down more accurately, anyway.

Mulling over what a strange kid she was, he decided to continue his reading on the book he had borrowed from the library. It wasn't at the top of his list of preferred things to do, but he was never one to shy away from academics. And, in his current situation, spending his time reading that book would likely prove to be more useful than he thought.

* * *

Several weeks had passed by before Johnny was able to visit Marley again.

Things had gone on smoothly for some time - so smoothly in fact, that he never would have expected the turn of events that were about to take place.

It was still mid-morning at Fear Co., and the Scarers were on a roll. Their numbers climbed higher and higher, which only fueled the employees to keep giving it their all. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, and Worthington was no exception.

He was flexing his muscles and doing a few routine stretches before tackling another set of doors.  
He had previously flown into one and had frightened the little boy so badly that he ran screaming out of the room. Although this meant that because the boy took some of the energy with him as he left, the canister didn't quite make it to the top. Johnny was no less enthused by his success.

"What do we have next, rookie?"

Charlie adjusted his cap. "Penny and Derek next, sir."

Penny and Derek were fraternal twins who shared the same room. It was a thrill for Johnny, being able to scare those two as, naturally, they gave double the energy.

When the door was ready, Johnny zoomed in and a terrifying roar could be heard on the other side, even through the barrier. Charlie stared in glee as the canister was filled to the top. Almost as quick as he had entered, Johnny came back out, shutting the door behind him.

"Top notch, as usual," the small yellow monster beamed.

Flexing his arms, Johnny prepared for the next door which - if his estimation was correct - would be none other than -

"Uh...Marley, sir…" Charlie peered at the file.

"What's the big deal?" Johnny growled with a frown.

He shook his head. "Nothing, sir."

"Get it ready, then. The kid's getting used to expecting me. Wouldn't want to disappoint her," he said jokingly.

When the door was brought forth and connected to the portal, Johnny didn't waste a minute. For the umpteenth time, he entered the ten-year-old's room.

Shutting the door behind him, as was necessary, he looked toward the bed where he expected Marley either to be sitting up waiting for him, or to rise from her bed at the sound of his approach. Sure enough, she was sitting up in her bed, this time with a small bedside lamp on. That wasn't customary for her, but what Johnny noticed first was the look on her usually bright face.

He walked a few steps into the room, approaching the end of her bed.

"Hey kid," he greeted awkwardly. For some reason, the look on her face made him falter. "You know what I want. What's with the face?" His brow creased in mild curiosity, hands on hips. Marley was always eager to see him. He had never seen her with a troubled look before, and he hoped that whatever was bothering her wouldn't interfere with what he needed from her.

She had been sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees. She looked up at him.

"Johnny monster," she said.

He sighed. "Just _Johnny_, kid." Unsure whether to ask what was wrong or not, he decided to chance mentioning the scream. "Can you give me that scream?" His tone was perhaps less confident than usual, but then, he was in an awkward situation. His dealings with Marley were delicate enough as it was, and he wasn't sure how to respond to a human kid in obvious distress.

"I can't scream anymore, Johnny." Her large blue eyes bored into his. "My parents…" She buried her face in her arms. "They're wondering why I've been screaming so much."

He reflected that it really wasn't that often that he visited her, but he supposed that a child her age who kept complaining of monsters in her closet would eventually arouse suspicion from the parents. Definitely _not_ good.

He leaned a hand on the round knob of her bedpost, crossing his leg over in contemplation. "I gotcha, kid."

"And," she continued, looking up again, "they want to take me to a therapist."

Johnny's expression darkened. He removed his hand from the bedpost and regarded her fixedly.

A visit to a therapist was not good at all; it was a sure sign that the parents suspected something was wrong.

In retrospect, if he had taken the time to analyze the situation thoroughly, he supposed that it made sense her parents would begin to wonder what was going on. Younger children, of course, "imagined" monsters coming out of their closet or from under their bed. But it was abnormal in a child Marley's age.

He was frowning. "Kid, I...I should have known this would happen."

It was a rare instance in which Johnny would admit to a mistake. But, as he reminded himself over and over, it was a very unnatural circumstance to begin with. It always seemed easier to make mistakes in the human world, because monsters were out of their element.

He hadn't been looking at Marley, but was thinking on the situation when he suddenly felt small arms around his waist. He nearly flinched when he looked down, more than a little surprised to see her hugging him closely.

"Hey, be careful, kid," he said, gently trying to pry her off. Monsters still weren't comfortable with the idea of physical contact with human beings.

Taking no notice, she looked up at him. "Does this mean that I'll never see you again?" Her eyes were pleading, desperate.

"Listen, squirt -"

"Please don't go, Johnny, _please_ come back to visit!"

Forcing himself to do so, he took her by the shoulders and made her face him. "Look, kid..._Marley_...I gotta figure this out before I can make any promises." Hesitating to tell her more, he said, "It wouldn't be very good if your parents found out I was here."

"I don't want you to leave," she said.

It was an uncomfortable situation. He wasn't altogether sure what to tell her, and the fact that she seemed to have formed an emotional attachment to him didn't make things easier. Especially considering that the only reason he ever visited her was to collect the energy from her screams. How did their pact come to this? Granted, he wasn't admitting to having any attachment to _her_. But she seemed desperate not to let him go, for some strange reason.

"Listen, Marley," he said, using her name for the second time. "Like I said, I can't make any promises. If I can't come back, I'll visit you one last time to let you know, alright?"

She said nothing. She didn't want to nod, didn't want to say "Yes" or give any affirmation that she agreed to his plan. She wanted Johnny to know that she wasn't ok with this. For months now (technically, for years) he had been visiting her, getting her to scream. Some time ago she had convinced him to tell her exactly why he wanted her to scream, and she had been fascinated by the concept behind it. It may not have made a lot of sense, but she was still at the age where logic and reasoning were only the second most important traits to possess (the first being imagination.)

Over the course of time since he started communicating with her, she had come to like him very much.

When she had grown old enough to fear him no longer, she would scream whenever he entered her room, and something inside of her knew that it was her screaming that had him coming back. At the time, she was fascinated by him. It was a bittersweet sort of thrill that ran through her upon seeing a huge, purple, horned monster emerge from her closet, especially as no matter how many times she opened the door, no trace of him could be found. It wasn't long before she stopped mentioning him to her parents (though it didn't prevent them from hearing their daughter scream on occasion - which was a growing puzzlement to them.)

But things were different now. He had started talking to her some time ago, and she to him, and...all in all, he was unlike anything she had ever imagined. To her he was just a very large, strange-looking person who magically came out of her closet to scare her, at times she couldn't predict. She liked the way he looked, the way he talked and, somehow, she even liked his impatience. It was fun knowing him. Which is why she didn't want him to leave.

"I don't want you to go," she continued. "You're like the only other friend I've ever had."

An image of the girl Marley was with some time ago flashed through Johnny's mind. He wondered that this kid could claim him as her friend at all, much less _only_ friend.

"Sorry kid," he muttered, moving toward the closet door. He opened it and, reconsidering his exit, gave one last look at the child who had grown so fond of him. His brow furrowed in distaste at the whole situation. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to come back and visit the kid, but there was little-to-nothing he could do about it. The last thing he saw was Marleys' face staring at him as he shut the door.


End file.
